A quiet place

I am happy to have received a Silver Award in the 2024 Prix de la Photographie Paris for my photo “The Future Is Here”, shot in Hong Kong last year. Here’s the story behind it:

There’s one place in Hong Kong where every visitor goes to take in the views of one of the world’s most dense and futuristic urban landscapes.

This is not that place.

While most visitors flock to Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island, I captured this photo from a quiet, lesser-known spot in the mountains on the opposite side of the city – without a single soul around.

These are the moments I live for.

Moments of solitude, where, after hours of hiking and waiting for the right light, the world reveals itself in its most intricate beauty – each tiny detail and pattern absorbing my attention, like a force that draws me deeper and deeper into the city.

As an autistic person, one of my biggest struggles is that I live inside my head most of the time. I am constantly overthinking. But when I’m behind the camera, fully immersed in a scene, all my thoughts fade away, until only the present remains. In these rare moments, there’s no overthinking – just a pure connection to the world before me, free from mental noise or worry.

The truth is, I find it easier to experience these moments alone. It’s not that I don’t enjoy company. I do. But when I’m consumed by my craft, having others around me causes my attention to splinter and my creative flow to falter. I don’t feel at ease taking photos in groups.

It’s the same at work: I never feel comfortable writing with others around me. Even the sight of another person in the periphery of my vision is distracting. This can easily be seen as a lack of interest in others. But it’s not. As an autistic introvert, I can connect more deeply and express myself more easily in solitude. It’s just my way of being and belonging.

That’s why, when I travel, I’m always on the lookout for alternative vantage points; the less touristy spots where one can still absorb the beauty of the world in silence. With the rise of Instagram and other social media, these places have become increasingly hard to find (and I am as guilty as anyone of contributing to that). The occasional discovery of such hidden gems makes them all the more rewarding.

This particular spot in the mountains was everything I could ask for. Quiet. Calm. Serene. I went back there four times. The view was never as clear, and the light was never as magical as it was on the first evening I took this photo. I didn’t mind, though. The colorful sunset from that first night still lingers in my memory like a warm afterglow, reminding me that there’s always a quiet place I can return to whenever I feel overwhelmed.

If you happen to be in Paris this week: a selection of winning photographs from this year’s competition will be exhibited at Galerie 24b, 24 bis Rue Saint-Roch, from November 5 to 9. My photo, capturing the skyline of Hong Kong just after sunset, was awarded second place in the ‘Cityscapes’ category.